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Australian Greens spokesperson for multiculturalism, Senator Richard Di Natale, today called on Senator Cory Bernardi and all Australian politicians to distance themselves from Geert Wilders, following the decision to approve his visa application.

“Now that the Immigration Minister has approved the visa application of Geert Wilders, community leaders and politicians of all stripes must reject his hateful rhetoric,” said Senator Di Natale.

Australian Greens multiculturalism spokesperson, Senator Richard Di Natale, said today that we must not abandon our commitment to a rich and vibrant, multicultural Australia in the wake of the violent protests in Sydney over the weekend.

“Make no mistake – the Greens condemn the violent protests which took place in Sydney over the weekend. The violent actions and extreme views of a minority of protesters are unacceptable,” said Senator Di Natale.

Australian Greens’ spokesperson for sport and multiculturalism today called on the Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Rebels to drop EnergyWatch as a sponsor following the vile racist slurs by its CEO and co-owner, Ben Polis.

The Australian Greens have today urged the Gillard government to follow the recommendations of Amnesty International's report to impose time limits on detention and shut down remote detention centres.

"If we want to stop already fragile people from harming themselves or taking their lives, the only way to do it is by closing detention centres on Christmas Island and elsewhere," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young.

The sight of the two big parties exchanging and releasing letters on Tuesday was a performance that gave little hope for a sensible, humane or long-term response to the complex humanitarian issue of asylum seekers.

Australia receives around 2% of asylum applications to industrialised nations - over six months we receive equivalent numbers of unauthorised arrivals that Italy receives in one weekend. Yet political consideration of asylum policy is so warped our leaders were reduced to bickering like note-passing schoolchildren.

The Australian government should commit to resettling the survivors of the Java boat tragedy once they have found by the UNHCR to be refugees in genuine need of protection, the Greens said today.

"The UNHCR has said they are ready to help in assessing the protection claims of survivors and try finding a safe country for those found to be refugees," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said today.

The Australian Greens have rejected renewed pushes to expel asylum seekers to Malaysia or Nauru following the Java boat tragedy, and have advocated again for an increase in the humanitarian intake with a direct resettlement programme.

"We need a humanitarian response that deals with the realities of why people flee on leaky vessels and not get sidetracked by discussions of border protection or national security," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said today.

The Greens believe that everyone has the right to celebrate and express their cultural heritage and that all people, regardless of ethnicity, language, religion, culture or place of birth, have equal rights.

Diversity has built a society in Australia to be proud of. Countless Australians joined us from all over the world, and have contributed to making our nation great.